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Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Savannah at Books With Bite just read Happy Birthday to Me and wrote a very positive, thought-provoking review!

Here's an excerpt...

The storyline is good. I like the feel of it. The build up was just perfect and did not leave you hanging. As the reader follows the main character, Cameron, we see him change right before your eyes. Granted that he is ageing quickly, I like how his heart changed. While at first he was a big jerk and a big meany. As you get more in to the story, you see his heart get soft and you feel so sorry for him. I really wanted to just hug the guy. He learned a very valuable lesson in all that he went through.

Mr. Rowe wrote a simply fantastic book that I could read again. Mr. Rowe really capture the voice of a struggling teenager dealing with stuff all teenagers deal with and more. Even characters that had minor roles played so much more.

You can read her full review by clicking on the link here: Books With Bite. Thanks, Savannah!

Saturday, May 28, 2011

It's always nice to wake up to a positive review of your novel!! Ambur at Burning Impossibly Bright just gave Happy Birthday to Me a 5/5 rating and an extremely positive review!

Here's an excerpt from her outstanding review...

I just have to give Brian mad props for making me care about his main character so much. I absolutely loved Cam's character by the end of the book, and I can't wait to read more about him in Happy Birthday To Me's sequel, Happy Birthday To Me Again! :DHappy Birthday To Me was a fantastic book, and I absolutely loved reading it! I encourage everyone to read it, and I hope you love it as much as I did! :D

Friday, May 27, 2011

Neri at In the Name of Books posted a very positive review of Happy Birthday to Me today! She talks a lot about the main character Cameron's progression throughout the novel.

Here's an excerpt from her wonderful review...

From the beginning, I was mesmerized by the story and writing. Mr. Rowe does a great job of capturing your attention and weaving a great story. There were moments when I teared up just a little and had to reach for a tissue.

I really enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend that you give it a try. I can’t wait to read the second book to see where the author will take the story next.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

I've been working away every day on Happy Birthday to Me Again, the sequel to the first installment, and obviously it gives me great pleasure to see so many readers out there enjoying Part 1! There haven't been any full-length reviews of Happy Birthday to Me released since last week, but a lot of people are posting ratings on the book's GOODREADS profile!

Stray just gave it 4 out of 5!

Orchid, 4 out of 5!

Savannah at Books With Bite, 4 out of 5!

Nerissa at In the Name of Books, 4 out of 5!

And Ambur just gave it 5 out of 5!!

So many great reviews to look forward to... I can't wait to read them!!

And in case you're interested about the sequel, I'm 51,000 words in! There will be many drafts done this summer before the book's September launch, but let me just say I'm VERY happy with the way this sequel is taking shape. If you liked or loved the first installment, I promise you're going to enjoy this follow-up!!

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Jamie at Fantasy Book Chick just gave Happy Birthday to Me 5 out of 5!! Here's an excerpt from her terrific review...

By the end of the book Cameron has become a completely different person not only on the outside but also on the inside. The part where Wesley did something for Cameron in the hospital (not going to spoil it), I had tears in my eyes. What a terrific best friend he is. To see what Cameron goes through and how people change toward him, it was very emotional. I loved the entire book but the ending was amazing.It is a wonderful story that I recommend everyone should read. It is not at all what I thought it was going to be, it was so much better. Truly unique and original, you will not want to put it down. I am looking forward to reading the next installment to this trilogy.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Well, it's been a really exciting month, with reviews on both my titles Slate and Happy Birthday to Me getting posted all over the web, with interviews, giveaways, guest posts, and more, popping up all over as well! But while all this has been happening, I haven't been sitting back with a pina colada, twiddling my thumbs. I've been working hard on two upcoming projects, one near completion, and one near the end of the first draft! Lots of exciting developments coming up!! Here's some updates on all my books...

1. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME. This YA novel has definitely turned out to be way more popular than Slate (which is to be expected, considering the dark subject matter of the more cynical Slate), with over 100 (!!!) Book Bloggers agreeing to review the book in the last 8 weeks. So far about 10-15 reviews have shown up online, with many, many more to come this summer! Remember, the book is available for just 99 CENTS on Amazon for a limited time!

2. SLATE. My adult novel debut has been accepted by about 40 or so book bloggers to review, but only eight or nine reviews have shown up so far. Many are digging this dark look into the film industry, others aren't appreciating the bitchiness and selfishness of the main character. Slate, too, is available for 99 CENTS on Amazon!

3. TOWNHOUSE. My debut adult horror novel... arriving as early as mid-June on Amazon and Barnes & Noble! This may be my finest work yet, a very eerie story set in a North Hollywood apartment complex about a young woman who starts to suspect the man who lives across from her is the perpetrator of the recent kidnappings in the area. This one is NOT for the faint of heart!! I'll be debuting the book cover shortly, and will be launching the novel in just a few short weeks! Stay tuned!

4. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME AGAIN. I am nearly 40,000 words into the first draft of Happy Birthday to Me II and it's going great! This sequel picks up about six months after the end of the first book and goes to places that will definitely NOT be expected! Cameron and Liesel are back, as are Kimber, Wesley, Aaron, and even Mrs. Gordon! I've already outlined the third and final chapter of the Happy Birthday to Me trilogy and will be starting that one later this summer. Look for Happy Birthday to Me Again as early as September, and Happy Birthday to You as early as December!!

...AND THERE'S LOTS MORE TO COME! I've already outlined my writing projects through the end of 2012! Next year there will be a brand new trilogy of books--a YA paranormal romance trilogy for teens--as well as a stand-alone YA comedic fantasy novel, and an adult horror novel!!

I hope you all like to read! I have LOTS of projects in development, and many, many more books to come!!

Friday, May 13, 2011

I don't know a whole lot about writing... but I do know enough to write a Guest Post about it!! Bethany at OWL REVIEW A BOOK has been nice enough to hold an entire Author Week for me, and today marks the last post from me, this Guest Post.

Here's an excerpt...

For any aspiring writers out there, I recommend wholeheartedly Stephen King’s fantastic nonfiction book about writing, titled simply On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft. In it the bestselling horror novelist not only discusses how he got his start writing and selling his books, but also discusses concise, important writing tips for budding novelists everywhere. I’ve read this book probably ten times over in the last few years, and I’ve tried to take most, if not all, of King’s advice in regards to sentence and story structure, grammar, dialogue, and, most of all, daily writing tasks.

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

More and more book bloggers are receiving my book Happy Birthday to Me all over the world, which is so exciting! And I just received another shipment of books so I can ship out more copies!

Bethany at OWL REVIEW A BOOK has been nice enough to hold an entire AUTHOR WEEK for me, allowing me a review, giveaway, interview, and guest post! Wow!

Her interview was just posted today! Here's an excerpt...

When and why did you start writing? I’ve loved reading books ever since I can remember and always imagined myself, even from a young age, as being a writer. In my third grade class at Oakhills Elementary School in Granite Bay, California, a children’s author came to speak about writing, and she gave us all an assignment for the week, to write one chapter of a novel. I ended up writing a chapter about the ghost of a librarian that haunts the school. I loved writing this assignment and ended up writing dozens more short stories over the next few years, culminating into the fifth grade, where our teacher Linda Frodahl gave us story assignments all year round. On the last day of school that year she pulled me aside and said to me, “Brian, one day I want to see your name on the front of a novel. Don’t let me down.” Fifteen years later her wish finally came true, and I decided to dedicate Happy Birthday to Me to Mrs. Frodahl.

Sunday, May 8, 2011

First up is an Interview / Giveaway at An Addicted Book Reader, which just a few days ago gave my book a 5/5 rating!!

Here's an excerpt from the interview...

I'm very excited that there will be a Birthday trilogy, so I'm wondering what will be in store for Cameron in the next book?

I have very exciting plans for the second and third installments of the Happy Birthday to Me trilogy. I didn't originally plan Happy Birthday to Me as a trilogy, but in the last few months I started thinking about what Cameron would be facing in his future, and suddenly the ideas for Parts II and III became instantly clear. There will still be lots of comedy and romance in Part II, but Part III is going to take the story in an entirely new direction, one that is truly epic! I'm writing Part II right now and I plan on having both books out by the end of 2011!

And here's a brand new review of HBTM, hot off the presses, at Katie's Book Blog in the UK!!

Here's an excerpt from her review...

Happy Birthday To Me is an excellent read: a unique concept, well-written with a mixture of humour and pathos. I sped through the book, just wanting to read “one more chapter” to find out what would happen next. I laughed out loud, cringed in horror at a couple of the awkward situations Cameron found himself in, and even shed a tear or two in places. There is a fairy-tale quality to the book and a satisfactory conclusion, although there are due to be two sequels, which I would be very keen to read. I highly recommend this book.

Saturday, May 7, 2011

All sorts of articles have been posted in the last twenty-four hours regarding SLATE and HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME, so let's get started!

First up is a review of HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME at Far From Reality!

Here's an excerpt...

The story was an interesting take on 'coming of age' and the characters were likeable, especialy Wesley, I think i grew to like him the most. Cameron was a 'grow on me' character and so was Liesel but they had thier own charms. His girlfriend Charisma however, she was a diffrent kind of snobby and annoying. I did not like her, Cameron achieves her goal for him and she STILL ignores him, then she ends up kissing Wesley, gets back with her ex then leaves him for her own selfish desires... i loved hating her.

Second up... let's see... a GUEST POST about SLATE, in which I discuss my time working in film casting from 2008 to 2010.

Here's an excerpt...

Probably the most disappointing aspect to the job that I observed in my two years in film casting was the lack of final say the casting director truly had. You’d think the casting director would ultimately get to choose the perfect actor for each part, but she doesn’t. The director, and, even more so, the producer, will pick the actor at the end of the day, especially if it’s an important role in the movie. Worst of all, they usually won’t go with the right choice, but instead, the bigger name.

In 2009 I got to sit in on two or three wonderful auditions of the supremely talented Alison Brie (Community, Scream 4). She read for one of the lead roles in a comedy we were working on and simply stole the show—she was absolutely perfect. But was she a big name in 2009? Not so much. So the producers went with more of a name, an actress who was wrong for the role from the get go, ultimately bringing the movie down a notch because of her presence in it. These kinds of predicaments weren’t rare. They happened all… the… time. And it got frustrating. The casting director and I would spend days, weeks, months, pouring over headshots and spending hours in audition rooms trying to find the right actor for a role, when, after all our hard work, the producer ended up choosing some D-list actor for the part because he thought the actor had “name value.” Ugh.

Third up is another review of Happy Birthday to Me, this one EXTREMELY POSITIVE, over at Owl Review a Book!

Here's an excerpt...

What I really enjoyed about Happy Birthday to me was that when Cameron started aging he found out who his real friends were and how his family could genuinely act. Before he started aging, I could’ve (but I didn’t want to) put down the book, but after I was hooked. Everything started getting interesting, and I found myself wanting to see where all the character relationships went. Liesel is still mysterious by the end of the book. I hope that’ll change when the second book, Happy Birthday to Me Again, comes out. I will defiantly be buying the sequel!

Last up is an interview at Midnight Reads, in which I talk about Happy Birthday to Me!

An excerpt from the interview...

Can you tell us anything about book 2?

I just started writing the first draft of Book 2, and it's going to be an even bigger epic emotional roller-coaster ride than the first one. A lot of readers have been puzzled as to where I can take the story after the end of Happy Birthday to Me. But trust me, Book 2 and especially Book 3 are going to take fans of this series into a real spin of twists, turns, and high emotions. Let's just say not every character in this series is safe, and that the big finale is going to be huge tearjerker! In terms of what Book 2 is about, all I'm saying right now is that it takes place six months after the events of the first book, and we follow Cameron in the first person again as he again faces a devastating curse to his body. But it's not what you think! Stay tuned, I'm hoping to release the book as early as September on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Friday, May 6, 2011

I was asked by Teddyree at the highly popular and much followed The Eclectic Reader book blog to do an interview and giveaway for Happy Birthday to Me! I talk about my writing process, the research I did to prepare for Happy Birthday to Me, and what I'm working on next!

Here's an excerpt question...

Is there anything you find particularly challenging when you’re writing?

I'm sure most authors feel the same way, but I find the most challenging aspect to writing is tackling that blank page every day. I realized about a year and a half ago the key to writing a novel is giving yourself a schedule, one you can never, under any circumstance, deviate from. When I write the first draft of a novel, I write at least 2,000 words, usually 2,500, sometimes as many as 3,000 words, a day. I don't take Sunday off. I don't take holidays off. I don't skip a day because I feel like it. I've written four novels now, and I've never skipped a day when writing the first draft ever. I just feel it's important, especially considering the amount of ideas I'm wading through and trying to get down on paper. But that blank page is scary, for sure. Every single night when I sit down to write, it typically takes me an hour or so to sum up the courage to write the first sentence of that night's work. But once I settle into my groove and hear the voices of the characters inside my head, it's pure joy from there on in.

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Naida at The Bookworm just held an interview with me about my novelSlate!

One of her questions was about who I would cast if this book about the casting world ever got made into a movie! Here's what I had to say...

I basically have two answers, one, who I'd most love to play the role, and, two, who I think would be best in the role. I've had a love affair with Sandra Bullock for nearly twenty years, and it's no coincidence that Vivien is a complex character, in her mid 40's, with long black hair. Sandra's never played a role like this before, and it would be a dream come true for that to happen. But when I think in terms of pure acting excellence, and particularly of a middle-aged actress who would be more willing to drop her clothes for that pivotal sex scene, Julianne Moore would be my ideal Vivien. Choices for other characters would be Joseph Gordon Levitt for Brandon, Sigourney Weaver for Lila, and Zac Efron for Nathan. I think Slate would work best in a half-hour format on Showtime, like Nurse Jackie, Weeds, and the United States of Tara. So if you know anybody in Hollywood, tell them I'm interested in bringing this story to television! Haha!

You can read the entire interview by clicking on the link here:The Bookworm

Monday, May 2, 2011

Adrienne at An Addicted Book Reader was nice enough to not only hold an interview with me about my YA debut, but also give my book a 5-star review today! My interview will be posted on her site later this week, but you can check out her review now!

Here's a snippet of her review...

"OverallHappy Birthday to Me was an eye-opener to how much importance and meaning there is in every passing day and was also a great, fast read. I definitely recommend buying a copy for your Kindle because you can not beat $0.99 for a great read! I'm really looking forward to reading the next two books in the trilogy hopefully very soon!"